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Features
Resources
Datasheets
Epiq - datasheet - Sidekiq™ NV800
The NV800 is a high performance eight receive, one transmit SDR platform that enables rapid deployment for RF awareness applications. Capable of operating in either phase coherent or independent modes, the NV800 supports fixed frequency and fast frequency hopping modes of operation, both of which can support direction finding use cases. Fast frequency hopping on each channel can support total spectrum coverage of almost 500 GHz-per-second. The NV800 is easy to install, only requiring a 1GbE connection for POE++ and command & control (DC power input is also an option), and a 10GbE for high speed data streaming using VITA49.
Application notes
Squeezing the Balloon: Effective SDR Power Budgeting to Maximize UxS Range & Cap
Software Defined Radios (SDRs) are the Swiss army knives of spectrum battlefield situational awareness. Their uses range from satellite communications (SATCOM) and signals intelligence (SIGINT), to direction finding (DF), radar, jamming and many more besides. Even small drones are upgrading capabilities from only visible spectrum cameras to much more advanced capabilities using SDRs.
UAS Trends
Recent conflicts have accelerated trends that were already underway in the Unmanned Aerial System(UAS) market. Figure 1 shows a variety of different attributes that illustrate changes in the military market. The first three relate to differences over time worldwide, with an increasing number of countries able to deploy drones, a predicted 40% increase in spending, and a rapidly growing number of patents being issued as interest in this sector is reflected in innovation (graphs a through c).
UxS Challenges, EPIQ Solutions
Expectations on UxS suppliers to innovate and evolve their platforms quickly, and to ramp to volume faster are getting higher and higher. The addition of spectral monitoring to even small platforms dramatically increases situational awareness, enabled by small and flexible Software Defined Radios (SDRs). For design teams, a frequent issue is the ‘make vs. buy’ decision for the SDR, and whether the project can afford the time or engineering bandwidth to make every piece in-house. As a leading supplier of Small Form Factor (SFF) and open architecture SDRs, Epiq obviously has strong opinions on this topic
UxS Payload Form Factors
Unmanned systems (UxS) come in many shapes and sizes, whether airborne, in the water, or land-based. Most count as SWaP-constrained systems, with care needed in design to properly budget for power, weight and available payload volumes. Other notes in this series have discussed the challenges of power budgeting for SDRs, and RF architectures that optimize SWaP. We often have less choice in the form factors we need to fit into, as these are usually set by the larger system, and the customer question will be “I have this form factor, what can you do in it?”.
Which RF Architecture Should I Choose
Software Defined Radios (SDRs) have become ubiquitous in applications that value their flexibility, reconfigurability, spectrum agility and upgradability. These include defense, public safety, wireless infrastructure, space, SATCOM, test and measurement to name a few. However, there are several common methods of implementing SDR architectures – how do you know which is best to meet a specific need?
Considerations in the Build vs Buy Decision-Making Process for SDRs
The flexibility and enhanced performance offered by software-defined radios (SDRs) in RF transceiver applications is driving an increased demand for their use across many industries such as defense, telecom, aerospace, and government.
Case studies
Open-source repositories
Blog
Introducing Sidekiq™ NV800: SDR for Advanced RF Spectrum Applications
Discover Sidekiq™ NV800: with eight high-performance RF receivers, this SDR is ideal for applications in challenging signal environments. Dive in now!
Software Defined Radios – Which RF Architecture Should I Choose?
Choosing the right RF architecture is critical for SDR performance. From Superheterodyne to Direct Sampling, each offers unique trade-offs in size, power, and capability. Discover which architecture best fits your mission needs—register now to access the full article.
User Manuals
Epiq Sidekiq NV800 RF Sensor IF Output Interface Control Document
The NV800 IF data interface is the output interface for data from the NV800 RF Sensor. This interface is responsible for encapsulating and sending the sampled IF data collected by the NV800 along with radio configuration information to a specified destination.
Epiq Sidekiq NV800 FPGA Developer's Manual
This document provides the necessary details for developing custom FPGA applications for use with the Sidekiq® NV800 developed by Epiq Solutions
Epiq Sidekiq NV800 ERFS Interface Control Document
The Embedded RF Sensor (ERFS) Interface Control Document (ICD) defines the interface for network control of the NV800 RF Sensor (RFS). This document describes the protocol and provides example call flows.
Epiq Sidekiq NV800 PDK Software Manual
This document introduces the Platform Development Kit (PDK) for the Sidekiq NV800 sensor, specifically from a software point of view. It covers accessing the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) PDK user registers, loading custom bitstreams, and using example code.
